I came across the Black Panther Party’s 10 Point Plan again last week in the course of doing some research on a different topic. I stopped to re-read the points and I was struck by two things. The first is that the plan is as relevant today as when it was unveiled in 1966. The second is how many of the points address themselves to the criminal legal system.

7. We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of black people.

We believe we can end police brutality in our black community by organizing black self-defense groups that are dedicated to defending our black community from racist police oppression and brutality. The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States gives a right to bear arms. We therefore believe that all black people should arm themselves for self defense.

8. We want freedom for all black men held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails.

We believe that all black people should be released from the many jails and prisons because they have not received a fair and impartial trial.

9. We want all black people when brought to trial to be tried in court by a jury of their peer group or people from their black communities, as defined by the Constitution of the United States.

We believe that the courts should follow the United States Constitution so that black people will receive fair trials. The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives a man a right to be tried by his peer group. A peer is a person from a similar economic, social, religious, geographical, environmental, historical and racial background. To do this the court will be forced to select a jury from the black community from which the black defendant came. We have been, and are being tried by all-white juries that have no understanding of the “average reasoning man” of the black community.

Interestingly, the demands articulated in the plan with respect to the criminal legal system are pretty conservative. They do not challenge the existence of prisons. They are not calling for the abolition of prisons. At the time, mass/hyper-incarceration had not yet reached the epidemic proportions of our current historical moment. I have no doubt that were he alive today, Huey P. Newton would be a prison abolitionist.

I don’t have a particularly deep knowledge or understanding of the Party. I suspect that I am like many other people who have formed their impressions of the Black Panthers through watching Eyes on the Prize and other documentaries or perhaps by reading a biography of one of its leaders. I’ve decided that I really need to learn much more about the historical significance of the Black Panther Party. Alas, I now have yet another summer project.

In the meantime, I found some fascinating footage of Huey P. Newton speaking from Alameda County Jail about police brutality and the unjust criminal legal system. My friend Frank has just introduced me to video ripping and so I will now be unstoppable in terms of uploading video clips on Youtube. Beware :). You should all expect a ton of video clips to appear on this blog in the coming days (just kidding!).

I uploaded this footage which also features Eldridge Cleaver and Bobby Seale. In fact, Seale is shown reading the 10 point plan at a meeting. The clip is 15 minutes long and I encourage everyone to watch the whole thing. You won’t be sorry. Their words are a reminder that our current problems are rooted in a historical context of inequality and injustice. They also provide continued inspiration to keep fighting for justice. La lucha continua!